Equipment of this kind usually utilises a series of carriages which are clipped onto a chain driven by sprockets. The carriages carry cups which support the fruit. A series of rotating rollers are arranged to rotate the fruit clear of the cups through a photographic zone. The fruit is then carried by the cups over a weighing zone in which the weight of each fruit is monitored. The cups are usually designed to pivot outwardly to cause the fruit to be ejected at appropriate positions along the conveyor determined by a computer that stores the data from the photographic and weighing zones. Equipment of this kind is very complex and thus expensive. The timing of the operation of components of the equipment is critical and thus setting up the equipment is a lengthy operation for a skilled individual. Furthermore, the power consumption of the motors which drive the sprockets is significant.
It is these issues that have brought about the present invention.